Toy horse



L. M. J. FOULKE June 14, 1949.

I TOY HORSE 2 Sheet-Sheet 1 Filed ma 23, 1947 INVENTOR.

laaw'ejl. Jana? fibulke ATTORNEY June 14; 1949. L. M. J. FOULKE 2,472,797

TOY HORSE Filed May 23, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q INVENTOR. ZOIUS? M Jones FbaI/re ATTORNEY Patented June 14, 1949 ..UNTTFID TATES NLT 4 2,472,797 V TOY HQR'STE Louise M. Jones Foulke, Brooklyn; N. -Y. Application May 23, 1947, Serial fiof'iliii d 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to toys, and aims to provide a toy in the form of a horse on wheels, with means whereby, when a child sits on the horse he may, by an up and down movement, propel the toy.

The above broad as well as additional and more specific objects will become apparent in the following description, wherein characters of reference refer to like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawing. It is to be noted that the drawing is intended for the purpose of illustration only and that it is neither desired nor intended to limit the invention to any or all of the specific details of construction shown, excepting insofar as they may be deemed essential to the invention.

Referring briefly to the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the toy.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary central longitudinal section elevational view through the toy.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the platform or base of the toy.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral l0 indicates a base or platform supported on front wheels I! and rear wheels l2. The front wheels are loose on an axle l3, and the rear wheels H are rigid on the ends of a crank shaft I4. Both the axle l3 and the crank shaft M are supported from the base l0 by means of brackets IS. A longitudinal slot I6 is provided through the base 10 over the crank shaft I4.

An upright tubular housing I1 which has its lower end threaded and passing through an opening in approximately the center of the base I0, is secured to the base by nuts I8 and IS. A flange 20 is provided about the upper end of the tube II. A wider tubular housing 2| has a flange 22 surrounding the tube |1 so that the housing 2| is axially slidable with respect to the tube IT. The upper portion of the housing 2| is internally threaded at 23.

The upper end of the housing 2| is also threaded externally and threads into the flange 24 of a cap 25, projecting downward through an opening 28 in the belly of the figure 21 of a horse. A nut 28, locks the cap 25 in position.

A rod 29 having an externally threaded head 30 (Fig. 3) at the upper end thereof, is slidably mounted in the tube I1 and extends below the lower end of the tube as well as upward into the housing 2| where the external threads of the head 30 engage the internally threaded portion 2 23 of the housing 2|, thereby locking the rod 2! to the figure 27. A compression spring 8| surrounds the rod 29 within the tube 2|, thus normally urging the figure 21 to its upper limit position.

A beam 32 is pivotally mounted at 33 to the underside of the base l0. One end of this beam is pivoted at 34 to a link 35; the other end is pivoted on the eccentric deformation or crank 36 in the shaft M. The other end of the beam 32 has a longitudinal slot 31 therein, in which a pin 38 on the rod 29 registers.

A child sits astraddle the horse, and it is preferably made of a small enough size to enable the child, while thus seated, to reach the platform It with his feet or toes. The weight of the child on the horse will cause the rod 29 to descend against the force of the spring 3|, and in doing so it will obviously cause clock wise rotation of the shaft l4 and hence of the wheels l2, thus propelling the vehicle forward. Assuming sufficient momentum to carry the link 35 past dead center, as the child feels that the horse is rising or about to rise, he assists the upward movement of the horse by squeezing his knees against the horse and pushing up with his feet against the platform l0, whence the rod [9 rises to its maximum and doing so turns the shaft I4 and wheels l2 through another half cycle. When the horse reaches its maximum upward position and the child feels that it is ready to descend, he again lifts his feet from the platform so that his weight will cause the horse and the rod Hi again to descend. Repetition of this cycle causes the horse to be propelled forward on the wheels II and I2.

Obviously, modifications in form and structure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

A toy comprising a base, axles rotatably secured to the base, wheels mounted on said axles, one of said axles having a crank deformation therein, a vertical rod slidably mounted in said base and extending through the base, a figure of an animal such as a horse rigidly mounted on the upper end of said rod, a beam pivotally secured to the base and having a longitudinal slot in one end thereof, a pin on the lower end of said rod registering in said slot, a link pivoted at one end to the other end of said beam and having its other end pivotally secured to said crank deformation, a tubular housing of lesser length than said rod secured in said base and surrounding said rod, said housing having an outwardly extending fiange on the upper end thereof, a second tubular housing rigid with said figure and of greater diameter than said first housing, said upper end of said first housing registering slidably in said second housing, said upper end of said rod having a head thereon, the lower end of said second housing having an inwardly extending flange thereon slidably engaging said first housing and cooperating with said head to provide a limit stop to the upward movement of said second housing and hence of said figure, a compression spring surrounding said rod between said headthereof and said first-named flange, said second housing having an internal thread thereon, said head hav ing an external thread thereon engaging said internal thread thereby releasably and adjustably 15 '4 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Nrunber Name Date 1,556,090 Edwards Oct. 6, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,112 Great Britain 1891 Great Britain Nov. 22, 1934 

